400 kilometers above Earth, NASA astronauts Barry Eugene Wilmore and Sunita Williams find themselves in an unexpected situation: they have been in space for 65 days after the ship that was supposed to bring them back had to return due to a technical failure. So Elon Musk and his company SpaceX have emerged as an option to bring them back.
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This was supposed to be a short eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS), but technical glitches with Boeing's Starliner capsule have complicated the situation, which is why Malek X will be the solution.
Why did the astronauts stay in space?
Wilmore and Williams’ mission, which took off in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner, was a critical test flight for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Designed to be the next regular transport vehicle to the International Space Station, the spacecraft had to prove it could safely transport astronauts and return them. However, shortly after docking with the ISS, technical issues began to surface, raising questions about the Starliner’s ability to accomplish its mission.
One of the major problems discovered was a series of engine failures, which forced the crew to abort the first return attempt. In addition, helium leaks were recorded, which made the situation worse.
Despite efforts by Boeing and NASA to resolve these issues, tests conducted on the ship docked to the International Space Station and on a replica of the propulsion systems at NASA facilities in White Sands, New Mexico, were unable to provide assurances of a safe return.
Elon Musk and SpaceX, NASA's solution
Given the uncertainty and risks associated with using Starliner to return astronauts, NASA has begun to seriously consider an alternative: turning to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, which has successfully flown crewed missions to the International Space Station since 2020 and could be the key to solving this technical challenge and returning astronauts to Earth.
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